Distraction in the Court

Before becoming a litigator, I never gave much thought to the statue of the blind Lady Justice. Similar in structure to the Statue of Liberty, the ones I’ve seen before have been these modest, matronly, conservatively-dressed and sometimes even moderately masculine sculptures of dignified indifference. Much more Lincoln Memorial than Venus de Milo, for sure. I’ve always thought of her as a no-nonsense type of lady. But one day in court, I saw a blind Lady Justice statue on the bench that made me do a double take. This Lady Justice was super sexy. And hovering high on the front of the bench for all to behold.

The slit in her skirt was open to the top of her thigh. Her hip was thrust out toward the sword she gripped. Her hourglass figure was evident through the form-fitting loosely-draped dress. One bare foot stretched out slightly forward to deepen the thrust of her hip. She held the scales of justice out with a slender arm. Come to think of it, it was pretty similar to the photo on this blog. But I digress.

This statue stood between the judge and the parties who came before her. I doubt I’m the only attorney who has noticed it. Luckily, I can say that, although it caught my attention when I entered the courtroom, I was not distracted by it during my hearings. But I wonder if others were.